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Huma Nassr, the brainchild behind SEPMA and CEO of Shaan-e-Pakistan, explained why the event is being held in digital fashion this year
After hosting the inaugural SEPMA Awards in 2019 in Lahore, Shaan-e-Pakistan has announced a second edition of SEPMA Awards to be held digitally. Due to the consistent rise in the Covid-19 pandemic, the upcoming edition will be an immersive, accessible digital event, noted a press statement.
Huma Nassr, the brainchild behind SEPMA and CEO of Shaan-e-Pakistan, explained why the event is being held in digital fashion this year. “A major concern for my team and I was the safety and responsibility that comes with initiating the process of the show in these COVID times; hence our decision to take it all online.”
SEPMA 2020, that aims to bring musicians together as well as celebrate their accomplishments, will consist of several sections. The SEPMA 2020 digital event will reward various performances from the music scene from July to September 2020.
The digital event will consist of SEPMA Drum Circle Announcement, SEPMA Digital Summit, SEPMA Award Trophy Reveal and Tarana Digital Launch and SEPMA 2020 Awards Ceremony. All suggestions and portfolios for possible nominations must be sent by August 1st 2020 to Shaan-e-Pakistan at info.shaanepakistan@gmail.com.
The 2020 edition will bring together musicians that are local and international. It will cut across all genres and will provide artists with a platform to be heard on an international and national scale.
Ertugrul Ghazi may not be accurate in its depiction of history but the Turkish TV series has the Pakistani audience riveted. It’s breaking records and the soundtrack is flying high.
So, a song paying tribute to the series Ertugrul Ghazi, by a Pakistani artist, is not out of the realm of possibility. A case in point is Hadiqa Kiani’s ‘Sen Aglama,’ released with a video directed by longtime collaborator Abdullah Harris. It’s one of the better Turkish musical sonic tunes because Hadiqa can adapt her vocals to different languages. It has been one of her biggest strengths as an artist since time immemorial.
However, the music video also states: “A tribute to Ertugrul, Sezen Aksu and Turkey.”
The fact is that the show is not true to history, something that has been confessed by its creators. Given that, when asked about her tribute single and the motive behind it, Kiani explained that it is not just about the series. “It wasn’t inspired by Ertugrul originally,” she said in a conversation with Instep, “but it all came together in quite a spectacular way just now.”
Kiani recalled her history with Turkey and the single that goes back to 2005. “I originally sang this song at the AKM Opera House in Istanbul in 2005. Whenever I do concerts internationally I like to honour that country and its culture. So, when I learned I was going to be performing in Turkey, I started studying this beautiful song called ‘Sen Aglama’ by the legendary Sezen Aksu; I learned the words and pronunciation through Turkish friends of mine and then I performed it at the show. It was one of my most favorite performances.”
Hadiqa admitted that she been watching Ertugrul recently. “It was suggested by Abdullah Harris - who had heard my 2005 Turkish rendition - to compile the series with the song since it fit so beautifully. Now I’m starting to get forwards from friends and family a bevy of reaction videos of Turkish and Pakistani people listening to this remastered version. It is really quite humbling.”
Hadiqa reiterated, “Music and art are absolutely universal and I think we are seeing an example of that.”
